Happy 1st Birthday & Thanksgiving!!!!

Auntie Aurea, this one is all for you! I'm so glad you told me you check the blog b/c I was considering not updating it anymore thinking no one actually read it! I'm so glad you do :) Well, we celebrated Cole's first Thanksgiving and birthday all in the same weekend! We had a wonderful time hanging with family (finally not working a Thanksgiving!) and showering the little dude with first-birthday gifts! While he didn't enjoy unwrapping the gifts, he did enjoy playing with them all! He is so interested in lights and sounds. He's been walking around tables and walls, he crawls like a champ, and he says quite a few words, mostly dada, mama, yaya (for Aurea!), milk & dog (or a versions thereof) and he clearly said 'uh oh' on his actual birthday!!!! He's grown so much and each new phase is more exciting than the one before! It's been so much fun watching him learn to explore the world!

Happy *Belated* Halloween!

Well, I am waayyy behind on posting, but thankfully not as far behind as I thought! The month of October flew by for us with Halloween & packing. Yes, we made the decision to move our little family back to Tulsa and our house in Austin sold in a week! Soooo, we had to quickly pack and make home repairs in order to close on Nov 16. Cole has handled the transition very well, he had a few days of restlessness and not wanting to nap, but we think we're getting settled now. Here are a few pics from the month of October. Cole wasn't really excited about the pumpkin patch or dressing up for Halloween, but he did enjoy hanging out with the neighborhood kids before the older ones began trick-or-treating!





The picture of him asleep on the couch was out our neighbor's, Jack & Kelli. We had a wonderful goodbye dinner with J&K and Bruce & Angie. Our neighbors became like family over the past 5 years and we miss them dearly already. Hopefully this blog (and facebook) can help keep us connected between visits!

Falling into Fall

Cole has become one little mobile man & is getting into everything! He's learning to fall gracefully as he cautiously lets one hand go of the table (or whatever he's holding onto while standing) and he's quite the curious George. He is fascinated with opening and closing doors and pushing buttons on the stereo, it's quite funny b/c he's made Craig's stereo do things Craig didn't even know it could do! We recently realized he loves anything that makes noise as well as music! We took him to his (and our) very first ACL (Austin City Limits Fesitval...kinda like Edgefest only waaayyyyy better). He did great, even on Saturday when it rained all day! He was 'bubble boy' in his stroller w/the plastic covering! Here are some pics from the past couple of weeks...in a couple of the pics he was helping us change out a sink faucet and hang curtains. There's another of him standing ALL BY HIMSELF!!!! While we were at ACL, Michael (Aurea's brother) was entertaining him and let go to see what he would do and he stood all by himself!!! He hasn't done it again since, but at least we know he can :)

Don't Fall!

Cole will be 10 months this week! I can't believe it's almost time for his first Halloween! I bought a dinosaur costume and figured he could wear it while we hand out candy to the neighborhood kids. He looks hilarious in it, it's so cute! I think it's a stegosaurus, so when he crawls around with it on, it's perfect...we have our own little dino roaming the land! Cole has finally figured out how to do the right-left crawl, although he still gets around faster doing the 'inchworm.' He's got his bottom two teeth and the top ones are sticking through (I, of course, just had to sing 'all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth' and got the song stuck in my head...LOL!). I took this pic last week, we were laughing so much at his hair...it has grown a lot this past month. He was so excited to see the camera he kept climbing the side of the tub & even though he can pull himself up really well, he's not so good at keeping his balance. I think we both have been saying 'don't fall' more than anything else lately...haha!

Family pictures

So, we took Cole's 7-month pictures (supposed to be 6-months, oh well!) at the beginning of July. He was such a little ham & had us laughing the whole time! We're already talking about taking his 1-year pics...how time flies!

Waayyyy behind

I can't believe it's been since July that I have posted anything. Well, in August we traveled to Telluride, Colorado with Mimi, Papa & other family for Carlyn's wedding and had a wonderful time. We visited our friends Jason & Aurea in San Antonio (including the River Walk...yummy TexMex @ Margarita's). Cole & I made a trip up to Tulsa for a long weekend as I transitioned from working nights to days (wooohooo)! Cole had his post-UTI testing done at Dell Children's & we found out that he's one healthy little dude & no surgery is needed (thanks for all the thoughts & prayers)! And, he had his first swim lesson. Meanwhile, Cole had been growing & developing by leaps & bounds! During the months of July & August, he has perfected his army crawl, he pulls up on furniture, doors, walls, anything and is practicing standing on his own by letting go with one hand at a time, he's learning to balance on his feet and walk around holding onto things, and he's also learning to feed himself and eat table food! He talks a little, although it's more of grunts (he has such a raspy little voice!) and the repetitious "dadadadada"! At his 9-month appointment, he weighed a whopping 15 lb 14 oz...and we are officially UNDER the 5%, but he's growing along a curve that our PNP is happy with, so there's no concern. He LOVES his fruits, cheerios, saltine crackers, some of the veggies and we're working on the meats (he makes the funniest faces when he doesn't like something). For all the moms out there (and moms-to-be), Dr Brazelton's Touchpoints books are amazing for guiding you on developmental milestones & supporting you in helping your kiddo meet them (and reassuring you that each child is unique & learning is really all about playing!) Otherwise, we've been busy playing & cutting teeth & learning about life!

I took this video before our little dude got sick. He found one of the last spring-loaded door stoppers in the house (our master bath is the LAST room we have left to update...wooohooo!). Cole is a very curious little man & so much fun to entertain! His laugh makes us laugh, which in turn makes him laugh...it's a lot of fun! He's still mischievous and has pulled a lamp off the end table at least 3 times (you'd think we'd figure out how to move it so he DOESN'T do that) and thankfully has not bonked his head with it. He loves the dog food bowls & I'm constantly moving them, but Zoe does very well with him & doesn't put up a fight (although if she did, maybe it would teach him a lesson...hmmmm????). This past week has been rather crazy, we were at the pedi's office 5 out of 6 days and had multiple shots & labwork done. We're only part-way through this whole ordeal, but hope & pray surgery is NOT the answer. He's back to his smiling & energetic self & we can always rely on the dogs to bring a smile & giggle to his face :) "Man's best friend" may need to be revamped to say "Cole-man's best friend!"

Close up!

Here's Cole, going for the camera. He's already into electronics!

Little Dude

We'd like to dedicate this week's blog entry to our friends, Gabby, Amy & daughter Zoe as they welcome the newest member to their family, Ellis! We want to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS and we are incredibly excited for y'all! Y'all are an amazing family and wonderful parents and have learned a lot by watching you with Zoe :) Welcome to Austin, Ellis, we cannot wait to meet you!

So, our "little dude" this week has gotten himself into some trouble ;) He's learned to move really well in his walker and zooms everywhere! He's managed to knock over a vase of flowers (fake, thankfully), throw hangers everywhere (hence the pic of the hangers under the walker), knock over my glass of tea (I cannot turn my head for even 30 seconds!), chew on my running shoes (the pic makes my feet look HUGE, but they're really not, he's just a little dude, literally!), and pull a lamp off the end table (which thankfully landed on the walker tray and NOT his head). And yes, that is all in a week's time! I'm pretty sure we're going to have our hands full with this bundle of joy. He's soooo close to crawling now. He goes back and forth from a military crawl to a caterpillar crawl...it's really cute! He takes more and more interest in Zoe (our chihuahua) every day (although she wants NOTHING to do with him). And, he's turned into quite the chatterbox. He is a busy little bee!

Cole-almost crawling!

Here's a video Craig took while I was at work...Cole is getting very close to crawling!

6 months + 4 weeks

Now that it has been over a month since I graduated, we are finally getting into a groove. Because the Spring semester was so hectic (one day in clinical, one day of class, two nights of work, studying, homework...every day was different) we are finally able to give Cole somewhat of a regular schedule and now I know when he'll sleep, when he wants to eat and it is soooo much better! It is a challenge though, that as a parent you want a good balance between structure and flexibility. Life, we all know, is certainly never predictable, but having a routine is important as we are all creatures of habit. Anyways, this past week I have really discovered a lot of new things about our 'bouncing baby boy'! He LOVES paper products...anything from magazines, to grocery lists to tags on toys. He likes to now play with eveyday items like remote controls to the tv & cell phones. He's taken an interest in our chihuahua and just giggles when we play chase with her! He's also taken an interest in household cleaning supplies from the Windex bottle (good thing I had my eye on him the whole time) to the vacuum cleaner and broom. And yes, I have already begun baby-proofing the house! The biggest change this week is that he started getting up on all fours and eating real food (I found that oatmeal cereal is much preferred over the rice cereal in taste and sweet potatoes were a huge hit)! I cannot believe how quickly it is all happening! He's also sitting up! His teacher at daycare has been working with him on sitting up on his own and I have seen a huge improvement this past week. Here are some pics from this week...

6 months + 3 weeks

We took a trip to Norman last weekend to see Dave get married! Another one bites the dust :) Here's a group photo of us at the wedding. Gramma & Grampa Chesser came over to watch Cole while we went to the wedding & reception. Cole is just about sitting up on his own and is really good a leaning forward to end up on his tummy! I think we're going to have to baby-proof the house in the very near future. He has also started throwing tantrums (believe it or not, a 6-month old CAN throw tantrums...I asked our nurse practitioner and he actually displayed said tantrum for her after she took the tongue depressor out of his hands that he was so happily shoving into his mouth). She thought it was more funny than concerning and had "the talk" with us about ignoring bad behavior and reinforcing good...I suppose I'm getting my repayment for my temper as a youngster ;) He now weighs 14 pounds 2 ounces and is STILL in the 5%...he's just a little guy (not that Craig and I are very big people...ha!). He is a GREAT workout when I put him in the baby bjorn (which just may be the best baby product ever invented)!

6 months +

With all the gifts we got at our baby showers and borrowed toys, I really hadn't bought Cole any toys...soooo, I figured I could splurge and bought him an exersaucer and it is AWESOME! He and I both really like it and he just giggles while he's in it! He also figured out how to play the piano...very cute! We also started rice cereal and Cole HATES it...dunno exactly what we're going to do. I think we may have pushed him a little early, so I think we're going to take a break from it for a few days and try again. I've tried different consistencies, adding applesauce, trying to make him smile through the mess, etc. and it's just not happening! Oh well, I'm sure he'll figure it out on his own time :) He also likes books, but would rather turn the pages and chew on the corners than actually let me read to him...at least he's good at entertaining himself! He also started proficiently rolling over about 3 weeks ago...just after all the family was here for Memorial/Graduation weekend. But, I think he moves more successfully by scooting or spinning everywhere. He's able to get his knees underneath him and propel forward, but no crawling just yet :) He's really good at spinning in 360-circles...it's pretty funny! Wow, can't believe how much there is to update (I guess it shows how far behind I am!). The other thing Cole has taken an interest is in tags on toys and clothes...he is fascinated by them and can play with them for hours (not really, but it keeps his attention for quite some time)! Weird, I'm not sure if it's the lettering or texture of them, but he really practices his pincer grasp when grabbing ahold of them!

I'm so behind!

OMG, I cannot believe how far behind I am in my posts! Yikes! Cole is now 6.5 months, so I'll have to back-track a bit. My family came down for Memorial Day weekend (also my graduation weekend...wooohooo! I can now focus solely on family life and being a wife & mother)! We had a wonderful time and were really excited that everyone could make it down together! Trina brought over Caitlyn's old walker and Cole took to using it right away! Here are some pics from the weekend. Cousin Nathan caught a ride on the back of the walker...too cute and Mimi had Cole laughing like crazy!

5 months

Cole is now 5 months, can you believe it?!?!?! He continues to change daily and I continue to be impressed (I am a tiny bit biased *smiles*)! He is soooo close to rolling over from his back to his tummy!!! We've been trying to coach him along to make that last little move to end up on his tummy, I think it will be any day now! He's talking a lot too. All-in-all he's a very happy baby as long as he isn't hungry or tired. He's also starting to watch us more when we're eating, so I imagine he'll be ready for baby cereal here in the next few weeks! My last day of school/clinical is cinco de mayo and I am looking soooo forward to spending more time with my boys! Here are a couple of pics from this weekend. Yes, he is sleeping in the pic on the right and this is how he normally sleeps! The other pic is outside helping us do yardwork...he LOVES to be outside!

Cole @ 4.5months

Cole is growing by leaps and bounds! He had his 4-month checkup this past week and he now weighs 12pounds 8ounces! He's meeting all the developmental milestones like cooing, smiling, rolling over (almost), holding his head up, etc.!!! He's also started laughing here and there and we can tell that he can really see things now. He is fascinated over colorful toys and books and we're having a hard time getting him to not be mesmerized by the television (oops...don't tell on us)! He'd taken to holding onto burp cloths, so we got him a true 'lovey' this weekend...it's a cute little dog rattle with blanket...it's amazing that at this young, holding onto something like that helps him to fall asleep. I got this video to upload finally and it's of him talking! He gets a little camera-shy and quiets when I talk to him, so you don't hear me much, but he and I usually talk back & forth quite a bit ;)

more pics

I put Cole in his swing last night and came out to find him kicking his way out...I guess I need to buckle him in. He is so strong too, he loves to hold his head up and look around everywhere. Here's a pic of him sleeping on the couch, once asleep, he sleeps through anything, just like his dad!

4 months

Cole is now 4 months...cannot believe it's been a month since I posted anything! Cole has changed sooo much! He is talking and smiling all the time! At daycare, they comment everyday about how much he smiles! The photographer who took our family pictures said she cannot get over how expressive he is for 4 months! It's so much fun to make him smile! He's finally sleeping through the night (now 8-hours at a time...woohoo)! He's learning to grasp toys and does really good with holding onto rattles. He also took his first trip to Tulsa and got to meet the rest of the family and his cousins...their group pic is too cute.